Blog Fun Tips For Cookie Decorating With Kids

1-Dec-15 By Anne Yorks

Memories are made in the kitchen during the holidays! I can still remember the sweet smells of my mom's buttery vanilla cookies baking in the oven. Decorating cookies with my mom remains my sweetest holiday memory. And, of course, Christmas morning was the one day of the year we were allowed to eat a cookie for breakfast!

Now that tradition continues with my own family. I have two little girls that love to decorate. But, cookie decorating is a labor of love, especially when decorating with royal icing. Here are a few tips if you're decorating with kids this Christmas!

Find an easy cookie and icing recipe

We make an easy roll-out cookie recipe available online here. Check out our tips for easy baking and rolling! Our royal icing recipe is available here and we have a few tutorials online, too! Keep things simple. Plan only 2-4 icing colors, because mixing icing and colors can be time consuming!

Prep the day before

I find my girls are mostly interested in decorating, not the mixing and baking. So get started the day before your decorating party. Mix your dough, chill, and bake your cookies. Then keep them in an airtight container or ziplock bag overnight to keep them fresh. You can also mix your royal icing and make your icing colors the day before, too. Royal icing will stay fresh without refrigeration on the countertop. Time will deepen red and black icing so that you don't have to add as much food color. Prepping ahead of time will help to break up the process and everyone is fresh and ready to have fun – including YOU!

Use Squeeze bottles for the flood icing

Have some cookies ready for the details

Kids just love to squeeze icing, so flood several cookies and allow to dry before the decorating party so the kids don't need to wait for the cookies to dry to pipe the details! If you're working with younger children, outline the cookies for them. Then they can do the flooding, it's almost like coloring with icing!

Let it go, Mom!

Demonstrate a few decorating tips (we have tons of videos on our YouTube channel!), but kids love to be creative. Let them explore and have fun without cramping their decorating style. (I am guilty of this, but I'm getting better!)

Don't forget the sprinkles!

Set up a sprinkle station. Keep sprinkles on paper plates to keep them from mixing and for easy cleanup.

Invite friends over for Cookie Decorating

Kids love to decorate with their friends, so make it a party! I like to plan games for the kids to do while the cookies are drying. My favorites are:

Guess the cookie cutter

Hold up funky cutter shapes upside down and sideways and see if the kids can guess what they are! You'll be amazed at their creativity!

How many sprinkles in the jar

Egg on spoon race

It's a classic and a favorite that the kids will want to do over and over again. If indoors, use a plastic egg from a toy kitchen!

Don't forget the Apron

It looks so cute and will keep your kids keep clean! If you don't have aprons, maybe your decorators-in-training could decorate their own apron!! Give the kids a keepsake that will last beyond the cookies!

Eat them

After all that hard work, you know the kids need to sample their handiwork! I usually make a few 'fancy cookies' for a party favor! It's a great way to end a special day!

Anne Yorks left the "real world" in 2007 to be a stay-at-home mom and to pursue her dream of starting her own bakery. As a self-taught baker, she spent years decorating cookies and tweaking her recipes for loved ones' weddings, parties, baby showers and beyond. She now teaches cookie decorating classes, including an online Craftsy class, sells supplies on www.flourboxbakery.com, and posts tons of fun cookie videos on the Flour Box Facebook page! Flour Box Bakery is located in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.